On January 12, 2012, a Chicago area bicyclist filed suit against a semi-truck driver and his employers, R&L Carriers, Inc., and Greenwood Motor Lines, Inc. The lawsuit seeks to hold the driver, R&L Carriers, Inc., and Greenwood Motor Lines, Inc., responsible for a collision which caused severe and permanent injuries to the plaintiff, a bicyclist struck by the tractor-trailer.
On October 27, 2010, the defendants’ tractor-trailer was southbound on Ashland Avenue near its intersection with Madison Street in Chicago, Illinois. At the same time, the plaintiff, an experienced bicyclist, was riding his bicycle south on Ashland Avenue near the same intersection. The semi struck the plaintiff bicyclist while attempting to overtake him. The plaintiff suffered severe and permanent injuries, including fractured vertebrae, a collapsed lung, broken ribs, and a ruptured spleen.
The complaint alleges that the defendants were negligent in failing to reduce their speed to avoid colliding with the plaintiff, failing to keep a proper and effective lookout for traffic, operating at a speed which was not reasonable or proper with regard to traffic conditions and the use of the roadway, operating a vehicle in a manner which endangered the safety of the plaintiff, overtaking a bicycle without leaving a safe distance, and failing to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a bicyclist.
In Chicago, cycling is an integral part of daily life and the number of cyclists on the roadways continues to rise. The City of Chicago has long promoted cycling as a mode of transportation in Chicago and continues to do so with its Bicycle Program. However, safety of cyclists is imperative for cycling to continue to expand and be a daily life of people in the Chicagoland area.
Drivers need to operate their motor vehicles safely and in accordance with the laws and municipal ordinances to ensure the safety of the many cyclists on the road in Chicago. This accident was entirely preventable had the defendant followed the rules of the road, including Chicago’s municipal ordinances, and exercised due care to avoid striking and running over the plaintiff on his bicycle.
The plaintiff is represented by Thomas G. Siracusa of Power Rogers